The story begins back in 1963, when DuPont put a motley group of scientists together, including Donald Slocum, to identify and invent new technologies and materials, which solve consumer problems.
DuPont was hoping to create a material that could rival traditional hard worktop surface materials such as granite, marble, and stone.
What happened was sheer magic, as their combined efforts created what was to be the first Solid Surface material – Corian®.
It was soon determined that Corian® was the ideal alternative countertop material to the more traditional, established materials such as marble, granite , and stone, that they were hoping to create.
DuPont registered a patent, which also included Donald Slocum in 1967.
This patent gave DuPont a 20-year head start on any would be competition, and a chance to develop the product fully and establish it in the worktop marketplace. Obviously, during this time frame, other brands were busily working behind the scenes to produce their own variation, ready to pounce once the patent expired in 1987.
Originally, only available in white, Corian® was first introduced as a new, interesting material, in 1971 at the National Association of House Builders in Houston, Texas, where it was demonstrated as a fantastic alternative, innovative, worktop material.
This invention spawned a whole industry across the world, with the first manufacturing plant based in Buffalo, New York.
Mr Geoff Baker discovered this material in the 1970s and eventually introduced it into the UK market in 1979, through CD (UK) Ltd.
After the patent expired in 1987 many competitors emerged from the shadows, from all corners of the globe, though at the time, the most notable was Avonite, made by Aristech. They which altered the burgeoning industry yet again, with their introduction of a wider palette of colours, and, in some colours, polyester was used instead of acrylic resin.
Today there are a number of brands produced all around the world with factories in many countries, including the USA, China, Turkey, and South Korea.
In the UK today, there are number of brands including the original Corian®, Hi Macs, Staron, Hanex, Avonite, Durat, Durasein, Mirostone, Meganite, Minerva, Tristone, Krion, Mistral and Kerrock.
Hope this blog has interested you
Our next blog will be about the science behind Solid Surface and what is it made from.
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